Malvika Bansoda defeats Indonesia’s Gregoria M Tunjung in first round in China Open Super 1000
In the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament at Changzhou, China, Malvika Bansod, a young Indian player, defeated Gregoria Mariska Tunjung from Indonesia in straight games in the women’s singles opening round, becoming the sole Indian to advance to the next round.
The 22-year-old Indian, who is ranked 43rd in the world, showed great determination by saving a game point three times in the first game to beat the world No. 7 Indonesian Tunjung, who is seeded fifth, with a score of 26-24 21-19 in a 46-minute match, achieving the most significant victory of her career.
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Malvika will face Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour in the second round
Malvika, who has a B. Tech degree in computer science from SRM University in Chennai, will face Kristy Gilmour from Scotland, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist, in the upcoming round.
Other Indians eliminated in the first round of the women’s singles
Aakarshi Kashyap and Samiya Imad Farooqui were eliminated in the first round of the women’s singles, leaving her as the only Indian player to advance. Aakarshi was defeated by Chiu Pin-Chian from Chinese Taipei with a score of 15-21 19-21, while Samiya was dominated by Gilmour in a one-sided match with a score of 9-21 7-21.
In more Indian news, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu of Chinese Taipei in a close women’s doubles match, with the final score being 21-16 15-21 17-21.
B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy were defeated 10-21 16-21 by Malaysia’s Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing in mixed doubles, while Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath lost 14-21 11-21 to Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, and Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda suffered a 11-21 21-16 11-21 loss in women’s doubles.
Kiran George lost to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan
Kiran George showed great resilience but ultimately lost his men’s singles match against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto with a score of 21-4 10-21 21-23.
Currently training under coach Shrikant Vad at the Thane Badminton Academy, Malvika continues to push her game forward.
“This is her biggest win, and she is extremely happy. She has been performing well, but lacks experience, and sometimes luck hasn’t favoured her,” her mother Trupti told PTI.
